Electrophoretic separation techniques are separation techniques in which the components of a sample plug are separated in a separation column by the differences in the migration rates of those sample components on the application of an electric field therealong, where absorption, fluoroescence, electrochemistry, conductivity, radioactivity and mass spectrometry can be all used to detect the electrophoretic separation.
In order to determine the velocities of migrating objects as represented by a set of electropherograms, signal peaks from a plurality of signals as generated by a plurality of spaced detecting elements have to be correlated.
The present inventor has identified that, as the signal peaks and the detecting elements have a finite width, the correlation of the signal peaks is not one to one, and that this non-equiphase correlation leads to a loss of resolution and hence decreased accuracy in determining the object velocities. By way of example, for an object having a linear velocity function, there is a continuous set of slopes in space-time co-ordinates that are incompatible to the set of signal peaks. It would only be if the signal peaks and the detecting elements had infinitesimal width that the correlation of the signal peaks would result in a true straight line in space-time representation.
It is thus an aim of the present invention to provide an improved analysis system for and method of determining the velocities of migrating objects, such as sample components travelling through a channel, and in particular as measured electrophoretically.